Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 03/12/2013 | 115000 | ||
| The driver side door will not unlock. | |||
| 03/26/2012 | 110000 | ||
| The drivers door will not open either from the inside or the outside. the door remains locked as the button and key do not fully unlock it. using both button and key at the same time, i was able to unlock the door and open it. dissassembly of the door and latch located the problem to be the door latch mechanism. the door latch is designed to fail as evidenced by the number of complaints listing this part. the lever that is moved into place when the door is unlocked is blocked by the cam that it interfaces with because the cam has rotated beyond the point that it should. this has the potential to trap someone in the car if it should fail at the wrong time. | |||
| 03/12/2013 | 115000 | ||
| The driver side door will not unlock. | |||
| 03/26/2012 | 110000 | ||
| The drivers door will not open either from the inside or the outside. the door remains locked as the button and key do not fully unlock it. using both button and key at the same time, i was able to unlock the door and open it. dissassembly of the door and latch located the problem to be the door latch mechanism. the door latch is designed to fail as evidenced by the number of complaints listing this part. the lever that is moved into place when the door is unlocked is blocked by the cam that it interfaces with because the cam has rotated beyond the point that it should. this has the potential to trap someone in the car if it should fail at the wrong time. | |||
| 08/12/2012 | 85000 | ||
| Drivers side door latch failed and would not unlock from inside or out side. had to exit the vehicle through passenger side door. very dangerous if there were an emergency. i have seen many complaints online about this issue with the same make, model and approx. mileage as mine. kia needs to issue a recall before some one gets hurt. | |||
| 07/08/2012 | 135000 | ||
| I own a 2004 kia optima purchased brand new. i have been unable to unlock (or open) the driver side door. the vehicle has never been in an accident. the problem accorded a few weeks ago when i attempted to unlock my car door. once i removed my key and lifted the handle to get in all of the doors lock. i had to enter through the passenger side door. the drivers side door will also not open from the inside. this is a safety hazard as if i get into a car accident i will be trapped inside and could die!! i am not the only person with this issue for this make and model. and it appears that the 2003 model has the same issue. as you can see from the following websites: http://vlane.com/discuss-topic/989/my-drivers-door-is-locked-will-not-unlock, as well as www.fixya.com/cars/+866401-drivers_door_will_not_unlock this is not an isolated incident. this is clearly a defect that needs to be addressed. please issue a recall as i fear for my family's safety. | |||
| 07/29/2012 | 77000 | 1 | |
| The driver's side door will not unlock from either the inside or outside. the key won't work. i had to crawl over the passenger seat risking potential injury . this is a safety issue. i notified the dealer who said basically that it wasn't his dealership's problem and to call kia consumer number. i did call and he also said basically that it is not kia's problem, it is not a safety issue, and too bad for you. there are many documented instances of this door latch failing. it is a safety issue despite what the consumer rep said at kia. $50.00 diagnosis cost plus , when the part finally comes in, another $230.00 dollars. it is unacceptable for kia to ignore this safety issue. *tr | |||
| 07/08/2012 | 135000 | ||
| I own a 2004 kia optima purchased brand new. i have been unable to unlock (or open) the driver side door. the vehicle has never been in an accident. the problem accorded a few weeks ago when i attempted to unlock my car door. once i removed my key and lifted the handle to get in all of the doors lock. i had to enter through the passenger side door. the drivers side door will also not open from the inside. this is a safety hazard as if i get into a car accident i will be trapped inside and could die!! i am not the only person with this issue for this make and model. and it appears that the 2003 model has the same issue. as you can see from the following websites: http://vlane.com/discuss-topic/989/my-drivers-door-is-locked-will-not-unlock, as well as www.fixya.com/cars/+866401-drivers_door_will_not_unlock this is not an isolated incident. this is clearly a defect that needs to be addressed. please issue a recall as i fear for my family's safety. | |||
| 07/29/2012 | 77000 | 1 | |
| The driver's side door will not unlock from either the inside or outside. the key won't work. i had to crawl over the passenger seat risking potential injury . this is a safety issue. i notified the dealer who said basically that it wasn't his dealership's problem and to call kia consumer number. i did call and he also said basically that it is not kia's problem, it is not a safety issue, and too bad for you. there are many documented instances of this door latch failing. it is a safety issue despite what the consumer rep said at kia. $50.00 diagnosis cost plus , when the part finally comes in, another $230.00 dollars. it is unacceptable for kia to ignore this safety issue. *tr | |||
| 07/29/2012 | 77000 | ||
| The driver's side door will not unlock from either the inside or outside. the key won't work. i had to crawl over the passenger seat risking potential injury . this is a safety issue. i notified the dealer who said basically that it wasn't his dealership's problem and to call kia consumer number. i did call and he also said basically that it is not kia's problem, it is not a safety issue, and too bad for you. there are many documented instances of this door latch failing. it is a safety issue despite what the consumer rep said at kia. $50.00 diagnosis cost plus , when the part finally comes in, another $230.00 dollars. it is unacceptable for kia to ignore this safety issue. | |||
| 05/12/2012 | 120000 | ||
| The driver's side will lock you in the vehicle and won't let you out. you can be driving with the doors unlocked and it will lock itself while in motion or you maybe ready to leave a location and can't get back in the car. i have had several problems within the last week of being trapped in my car and sometimes i can't get the locks to let me out on the passenger side either. this has been a scary situation and i hope it doesn't cause someone to be hurt or killed. | |||
| 08/26/2011 | |||
| Drivers side door will not open with the power lock or by key, i have been getting in and out of my car by using the passenger front door. my husband found a way to unlock my driver side door, now i can not lock my car again. | |||
| 05/12/2012 | 120000 | ||
| The driver's side will lock you in the vehicle and won't let you out. you can be driving with the doors unlocked and it will lock itself while in motion or you maybe ready to leave a location and can't get back in the car. i have had several problems within the last week of being trapped in my car and sometimes i can't get the locks to let me out on the passenger side either. this has been a scary situation and i hope it doesn't cause someone to be hurt or killed. | |||
| 08/26/2011 | |||
| Drivers side door will not open with the power lock or by key, i have been getting in and out of my car by using the passenger front door. my husband found a way to unlock my driver side door, now i can not lock my car again. | |||
| 04/07/2012 | 70000 | ||
| Driver side door automatically locks and will not unlock from outside with the key or from the inside unlock lever. driver is trapped inside car and must exit by crawling over console to passenger side door. this happens sporadically and is a serious safety hazard. it renders the car unable to be locked at all. there seem to be plenty of others experiencing this same problem, yet no recall from kia. | |||
| 10/01/2011 | |||
| The driver side door on my car will not unlock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have been putting up with this for 4 to 6 months now. and getting really upset please tell me if this is considered a safetly hazard and this is covered i really don't think i should have to pay for this problem to be fixed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the only way i have been able to get it to unlock is for me to crawl out of the passanger side. then play with the lock with they key for a few days to have it unlock. | |||
| 07/14/2010 | |||
| Driver door refused to open. i have a disability so this created a huge problem for me. when i put gas in my car (regardless of grade or gas station) my car refuses to start. when i make a u-turn, my car makes loud clicking sound. i had it checked...my axle and every thing else looks fine. no one can establish where the noise comes from. my car has less than 60,000 miles on it, and it should not have all these issues but it does. | |||
| 11/03/2011 | |||
| The drivers door will not open from the outside or the inside. i have to crawl in from the passenger side and then when i want to get out i have to crawl over and exit from the passenger side. tried to unlock it with my keyless entry and now it doesn't work. replaced batteries but still not working. my son kept turning the key in the door and finally got it opened. the next time i drove it the same thing happened. i am tired of having to crawl in and out of my car. i always enjoyed driving my kia but not anymore. | |||
| 02/01/2011 | |||
| Driver side door will not unlock. neither the key nor the door lock knob on the inside works to unlock the door. unfortunately, we have been entering and exiting the driver side by entering the car from the passenger side. there are many others who have this problem with all kia models as you can see on the website http://vlane.com/discuss-topic/989/my-drivers-door-is-locked-will-not-unlock . the problem is a safety hazard since once in the driver seat, the driver can not exit the car through the driver door which can prove to be a problem in an emergency. kia is taking advantage of owners by not addressing the issue. i am afraid for my safety, my family's safety while driving and emphatically plead with you to recall these kia cars to fix the problem. | |||
| 09/10/2011 | |||
| We just purchased is car last saturday and went to the store and locked the doors then when we went to unlock the doors with the key on the driver side the driver door would not unlock. i would turn the key and pull the handle and the doors would lock back. i had to get in and back out through the passanger side. when i got home my son finally got it to unlock and open and everytime we would lock it it would not unlock or open. we just have to keep working with it until it fianlly unlocks and the door opens. so now i am afraid to lock it. i read online of many reports of this same problem and it would really be nice to get a recall for it. | |||